The role of desk review in assessing the potential for biodiversity delivery by the Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme in Wales

摘要

A desk review assessed the potential for the Tir Gofal (TG) agri-environment scheme to deliver essential ecological requirements for 32 Welsh Species of Principal Importance for Conservation from multiple taxa. The study used published ecological requirements and expert opinion to score potential delivery for TG prescriptions for species (or species groups) and government data to assess whether the most beneficial prescriptions were being deployed in the right areas and at sufficient scale. It was concluded that TG has the potential to meet the requirements of many species, especially those associated with distinct habitat types. For some species groups, TG has the right prescriptions but their uptake is likely to be too low to affect population recovery while, for a minority of species, it does not provide all essential requirements. The findings will help to identify future conservation priorities and inform the design of agri-environment schemes. Actual delivery by TG is now being tested in a three-year programme of field monitoring.